With significant technological advances, the laser printer, inkjet printer, and copy machine in the home or office have become affordable and ubiquitous. As printing or copying technology has improved and become further utilized, the costs of paper and ink or toner have also reduced substantially. As a product of lower cost, the volume of printing or copying has increased to a point where many sheets of paper are wasted unnecessarily on a daily basis. In fact, recent studies have shown that printed or copied papers are typically used for only a few hours before disposal. Although the cost of paper and ink or toner have become reasonable it is not negligible with the increase of printing or copying volume. In addition, continuous disposal of paper creates waste.
Inkless printing technologies such as the thermal printer have attempted to address the problem of increased paper waste and ink or toner cost. However, the thermal paper used by a thermal printer cannot typically be reused and print outs can degrade quickly over time due to ambient heat.
The rate of advances in nanotechnology is increasing. As scientists understand more about materials on a molecular scale they are able to control and leverage them to develop new applications. However, the use of nanotechnology to improve the paper printer or copier has been largely ignored. It is desirable to use nanotechnology to provide a rewritable or erasable printer or copier device thereby reducing waste and ink or toner expenses.